A Gem of a Small Nabataean Temple: Excavations at Khirbet et-Tannur in Jordan [Paperback]

Khirbet et-Tannur was a religious sanctuary of the Nabataeans, ancient Arabs whose capital was the rose-red rock-cut city of Petra in Jordan. Excavated in 1937, the temple sculptures from Khirbet et-Tannur are in important public collections of the Jordan Museum, Amman, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Nelson Gluecks fascinating finds of cult offerings and equipment were buried deeply in the Harvard Semitic Museum until they were unearthed by scholars decades later in 2002. New research on those discoveries and the sites sculpture by an international team of experts, led by Judith McKenzie (Oxford), has illuminated the religious practices and art of the Nabataeans. This gem of a small Nabataean temple has a fascinating story.Khirbet et-Tannur was a religious sanctuary of the Nabataeans, ancient Arabs whose capital was Petra in Jordan. Nelson Glueck's 1937 excavation revealed fascinating finds of cult offerings and equipment; new research on those discoveries by a team of experts led by Judith McKenzie illuminates the religious practices and art of the Nabataeans.MARLENA WHITING is an archaeologist and historian specializing in the late antique Near East. She has a doctorate in archaeology from the University of Oxford. HANNAH PARKER WELLMAN (M.S.) is an archaeology doctoral student at the University of Oregon interested in human-animal relationships and zooarchaeological approaches to environmental problems both past and present.